Aye the Queen
"Nearing on four centuries. Four centuries. Nearing on four centuries of art, history, and knowledge have been lost here today. All due to that man's '''pettiness' and spite. What is spite to the men he's wiped from history? What is pettiness to the whole of the history of humankind? Nothing, nothing at all''." — Aye the Queen, CC: 50/9/1,875 Queen Ayeij I Deyla, often Aye the Queen, was the 1st Queen of the Ayish Kingdom, finding it in CC: 1,858 at the Doublesiege. She was a nameless child, allowing her to expand the Ayish Kingdom's borders to every continent, birthing the first Power-That-Is. Her Eight Governors were as successful as her military campaigns, all so successful in fact that they alongside her inspired faiths such as the Faith of Anasia, the Faith of Iksas, the Faith of the 99,000 Nameless Gods, etc, (the goddesses Anasia, and Iksas both were inspired by her, and the Faith of the 99,000 Nameless Gods was inspired by the Queen's own faith, the Faith of the Nameless Gods). Aye the Queen is also remembered for renaming the Northern Continent "the Ayelands," and for finding Parthage which would later lend its name to the Crescent Continent "Parthalenn." Appearance: Aye the Queen stood tall at 184 centimeters, and weighed seventy-two kilograms. She had long black hair, which she had her servants braid in a myriad of styles, as was custom among the nearwestern, and Farwestern nobility of her time. Her eyes were blue, and she was known for having fairly long eyelashes. She had a well-defined jaw, and a somewhat long neck. She was well-endowed with large breasts, and a large buttocks. Her skin was olive, and she had a mole on the right side of her lips. She often wore red armor adorned with ice flowers, along with a pointed white sangahalk. She was rarely seen without a smile, or sword, which was usually attached to her arm stump. Personality: Aye the Queen was a very ambitious person, hungering for power more than anyone before her in history. The Queen was known to make great sacrifices all for the sake of power. Not only did she hunger for power, but she was competent enough to handle it. Aye was a driven person, early on wishing for nothing more than to break the Far West, and kill all the purejaws living in the Delklands. While she fulfilled these goals, she realized that she loved the thrill of a battle, the feeling of a total victory, and she loved demoralizing her enemies. Although she was not quite evil, the Queen could be quite cruel to those she did not like. Aye seemed to enjoy power, and exercising that power. However, she seemed to dislike violence for the sake of it, and had somewhat of a moral code, adhering to the nearwestern custom of vegetarianism. She also made sure that her battles, and raids did not destroy art, as she greatly appreciated it, building a collection of it at her home. Aye loved talking to foreigners about their religions, and respected the beliefs of other people, so long as they did no harm to her kingdom. History: Birth: Aye the Queen was born as Princess Ayeij Deyla CC: 28/1/1,840 at Thulk (which would later come to be known as Hocktonne), the capital of the Kingdom of Deylk, the largest of the nearwestern tribal kingdoms of the Delklands. Aye's parents were King Yulas the Wise Deyla, and Cubenner Princess Thrala Deyla (Corr). Aye was the result of the Ayish Alliance, named after Ayeij, an archaic form of Kaieylk, the Deylki name for Cayelenn the Goddess-Beyond-the-Shores. This alliance later became the foundation of her kingdom. Thrala died during childbirth. Although Thrala's father, Krayathar, was saddened by his daughter's death, he believed, like many nearwesterners, that a death during childbirth was a great omen. Thrala's younger brothers, Yukos, and Thronos, swore upon their sister's soul to protect Aye. Early Life: Princess Aye was raised as the heiress presumptive of her father, and as such, received the best schooling available to the nearwesterners. Normally, nearwesterners are only educated in tongues, religion, and combat. Aye was educated in these, but also learned a great deal about the history of the Far West, the Northern Continent, the Southern Empire, and especially the near west. She was taught mathematics, music and the arts, cooking, metallurgy, foreign martial arts, foreign religions, and even magicks. Aye's half-brother, and half-sisters received similar educations. King Yulas, under great duress, saw his kingdom become an Imperial Subject of the Far West after the Great Emperor of the Stone Laklol III Gayush besieged Hocktonne. He believed that he was not so great a king to take back his kingdom, and instead sought to raise someone that could, all the while leading the Far West to believe that he was a leal subject. The King made more alliances as Aye grew, and at several points had her daughter live with foreign kings, and chieftains. He even had her live among the Farwesterners for four years as a servant to the Prince of the Sky Asel II Estel, supposedly to teach her humility, but in reality to spy on the Farwesterners. Aye returned to Hocktonne shortly before her sixteenth birthday. Duldui: Princess Aye became the Queen of the Deylki on her ''Duldui'' (literally "four-fours," her sixteenth birthday), a coming of age celebration in nearwestern cultures. The celebration's most famous ritual is the Reidui-Tolfki (literally "two-fours-hands"), wherein the Dulduik holds the hand of a boy, and of a girl, and those two the hand of the same gender in a chain totalling nine people. The eight pray to the four gods for the Dulduik to have a great fate. Aye's Reidui-Tolfkii included her brother Jaumai, her sisters Naya, Mailan, and Oyesa, Raymeij, and Yuija (both of whom would become her future husbands), future Vaarraqua of Parthage Eya, and future Chancellery Governor Zhayal. All of them save for Jaumai became one of the Eight Governors of the Ayish Kingdom. As is tradition, King Yulas abdicated his position to his daughter. Naya became the first documented finder of a nameless child during the ritual. She received visions of Aye as a queen, and felt how intensely the nameless gods loved her sister, writing that "it was the same feeling a baby gets when it gets swaddled by its mother." These visions, however, came at a grave price; Naya suffered a terrible seizure wherein she bit off her own tongue. She lost the ability to speak, and nearly choked to death. She became known as Naya the Mute, but was still able to communicate her visions to Aye in writing. Sowing the Seeds: Aye the Queen set her sights on the Great Emperor of the Trees Ulkos III Laochalk, also known as Great Emperor Thousandrapes. His capital of Thousandtrees was the most-powerful city of the Far West, and if it fell, so would the rest of the country. Aye visited Ulkos, leading him to believed that she would reform the Deylki to be more Farwestern *if* he would simply bribe her. Aye had been educated in acting, and was able to lie convincingly to the Emperor. She was given two years to accomplish this goal, as well 9,216 **木** (currently equivalent to 85,000,000 **Я**). Instead, she armed the Deylki, and her allies with this money, sacrificing much of it in order to conceal the weapons from the Farwesterners. The final stage of her plan involved planting moles within the armies of the Great Emperor of the Stone, and the Great Emperor of the Trees; the weakest of the Emperors, and the strongest of the Emperors respectively. Most-importantly, Jaumai was to weaken the morale of the Imperial Stone Army, while also gaining the trust of its leader, the Great Emperor of the Stone Mulket I *Gaha* Gayush. >>Jaumai joined the Imperial Stone Army under the pretense that Aye was complying with Ulkos. Jaumai was immediately promoted to the rank of captain, as he was a noble. Jaumai found from his subordinate, Jayma, that the morale of the Imperial Stone Army was already quite weak. The army was made up mostly of forcibly-conscripted soldiers, most of whom were from the nearwestern Subjects of the Far West such as Deylk, Heylk, Cubenn Isle, etc,. The Great Emperor, as it turned out, was a boyfucker, then-seen as a most-grievous sin, especially by the nearwesterners. Mulket kept this secret, but rumors spread that the Great Emperor had just separated from a former captain, Alalk Protolkosh. Alalk Protolkosh was described as tall, olive-skinned, black-haired, blue-eyed, and incredibly violent. Jaumai matched this description perfectly, and he devised a plan to get closer to the Great Emperor. >>Jaumai, just like all the other captains, had to meet with Mulket roughly once a week. As a noble, Jaumai, sat very close to the Great Emperor, and being close in age to him, was able to befriend him by being a yes-man, and agreeing with everything he said. He seduced the young Great Emperor, all the while befriending the other soldiers, and distancing himself from the other captains, fostering mistrust in them with their subordinates. When the time was right, he began to organize a coup. He exposed Mulket to the Imperial Stone Army, and then flayed him alive, going on to wear Mulket's skin as a cloak. Jayma is said to have sown it. This ended the line of the Great Emperors of the Stone, which had been in sharp decline since the failed attempt to invade Telf by Laklol, who was burned alive by the Telfish. Most of the soldiers were more leal to Jaumai's family than to Mulket, and elected to follow him instead of the captains they mistrusted. Jaumai killed every single captain, including Alalk, who he raped to death while wearing Mulket's skin. Jaumai stole the Imperial Stone Army, making off with it to sack Thousandtrees. >>Ulkos noted that the 2nd anniversary of his agreement with Aye, CC: 14/2/1,856 had come, and gone. Ulkos was not a man to cross (being famed for his sadistic tendencies, rapes, and murders), and so he sent forth the 3rd Branch of the Imperial Tree Army to de-body Aye. Her moles warned her about the coming force, so she mobilized the Deylki, and led them *around* the Imperial Tree Army. When the Emperor's forces arrived in Hocktonne, Deylk's capital, they were met with a ghost town. Receiving word of the oncoming army, Hocktonne was evacuated, and its surrounding mountains were used to hide the Heylki, and Cubenner armies. The armies made themselves known, and told the 3rd Branch they were surrounded. When the direness of the situation became apparent to the 3rd Branch, the nearwesterners offered them the choice to lay down their arms, join Aye the Queen, and live. Most elected to die honorably, something the nearwesterners respected, but many joined Aye's cause, something the nearwesterners benefited from (this is where the phrase 3rd Brancher, equivalent to a quisling or a Benedict Arnold, comes from). The army of Deylki, Heylki, Cubenners, and Farwesterners then made for Thousandtrees. >>The Doublesiege: >>Aye the Queen's forces met up with Jaumai's forces in Cronenn's Crop, a river valley between the River Line, and the River Zolmal. They made north for Thousandtrees, planting beans on their way north (on Jayma's suggestion as a provision in case their plans were prolonged), and besieging the Imperial Capital on arrival. The 3rd Branchers, who were quite familiar with the layout of Thousandtrees advised the Queen on where to march on the city. Her army forded the River Roots in the night, and approached the city from the northwest, under the shadow of Laochalk, the monstrously-large redwood which was the namesake of the Imperial Family of Thousandtrees, the Imperial Palace *of* Thousandtrees, and the walled-capital city of Thousandtrees. This gave her the element of surprise, and prevented Ulkos from mobilizing his men, lest he open the city's gates, and allow her entry. The Queen was inexperienced enough to believe that the siege would be easy, but her force was only barely larger than the forces within the city, and soon enough, the other Imperial Armies were likely to show up, and destroy her. >>Three weeks into the siege, an army of Telf, a theocracy in the south, surrounded Aye's forces in the night. The Telfish forces were much smaller than Aye's forces, so the Queen would be able to break their siege, but probably not without letting Thousandtrees mobilize on her army. She decided that her best course of action was to have them join her cause. Aye had a great understanding of Telfish culture, and knew that unless she converted to the Faith of the Shadow and the Shine, the Telfish would never join her. So she did. >>Aye the Queen murdered her own brother, presenting his corpse as an olive branch to the High Grey of Telf. Jaumai and the Queen had feuded because of Mulket's skincloak, which Aye believed to be an abomination. She stuffed it down his throat while Jayma held him down. This was the first skinbrothering. Jaumai would be remembered as Jaumai the Skinbrother. Aye the Queen met with the High Grey of Telf, and presented him with Jaumai's corpse, saying: >>>"Geld the corpse if you want. I know you love doing that to foreigners. I do not mean to conquer you. I mean to rule you, and I mean to be ruled by you. I will be a *Sana*, and wear a *sangahalk*, and breed the sons of *Rolk-Nostoi*, and if you lend me your strength, I will take your god. THE ONLY GOD THAT MATTERS, I've heard you say of Him. I will force *Rolk-Sanulk* to take Him. I will force all of *Sanolk* to take our god. I will shove our god down Garlenn's throat. Calthoss, like Mulket's skin here, will choke the life away from all who dare to oppose me... All who dare oppose us... All of them will die. I will do as you do to foreigners. Lend me your strength, and all these things will happen. If you do not lend me an army. I will not take the Shadow. I will not conquer in His name. But, I promise you... only I will leave this battlefield alive." >>> — Aye the Queen, CC: 04/3/1,858 >>The High Grey was impressed by what he judged to be devotion to his god, and lended blachumor (an *extremely* potent incendiary often used in fire magicks) to Aye the Queen. That night, the Ayish Army blew open the gates of Thousandtrees, and took the city. Bloodshed was kept to a minimum, and most of the soldiers were used to break into the Imperial Palace of Thousandtrees. The Queen, and the Emperor found themselves in a one on one fight at the base of Laochalk. Ulkos won by cutting off Aye's right arm. Before he could deliver the finishing blow, however, the Great Emperor was speared right through the heart by Jayma. Thousandtrees was taken. >>Imperial Prince Alkos Laochalk, Ulkos' oldest son, was brought to Aye the Queen just hours later, and the two were married over Jaumai's corpse by the High Grey of Telf. He proclaimed Aye the Queen of the Near West, the Stone, the Trees, and Telf. During the impromptu ceremony, Alkos was forced to carry his father's body to Aye so that, in Aye's words "your dad'll give you to me like a little bride." >>The Storming at Watercrown and the Siege at Liontail: >>Aye the Queen surrounded the Great Emperor of the Water Malk I of Clan Yul at his family's seat of *Corr-Simsis* (literally Liontail). He, and his forces had entered Liontail in the hopes of using its as their base against Aye the Queen. The Queen decided that there was no point in taking the fortress, and instead decided to let Malk starve. She then left to take the more important, but less well-defended Watercrown Palace, leading a vanguard of her kingdom's elite soldiers to take it. They poisoned Liontail's moat with blachumor, and used it to explode the underground escape routes of the fortress. Aye's sister, Naya, stayed behind, masquerading as the Queen herself. The Imperial Water Army was made of stronger stuff than the Stone, and Trees, however, and suffered through starvation for weeks. >>All the while, Aye the Queen arrived at Watercrown with Jayma, Mailan, Raymeij, Yuija, Eya, Yukos, Thronos, 3rd Branchers Ulk, and Folk, and Stone Soldier Moklalk. The group approached the Imperial Palace from the Great Bridge of the Far West, climbing up to it, and beginning the crossing at Galmalk's *Sangahalk*. To Aye, the Great Spires of Watercrown were nothing compared to the redwood Laochalk of Thousandtrees. Although Aye was not familiar with the layout of the Palace, she realized that all that needed to be done was scale the spires before anyone realized it, and regroup at the bridge after killing as many people as possible. Attacking the guards at the end of the bridge head-on, they were able to stop anyone from warning those inside. The attack was at night, so no one took notice of the dead guards before it was too late. The spires were each infiltrated: Aye, Jayma, and Thronos took the Green Spire, Mailan, Raymeij, and Eya took the Red Spire, Yuija, and Yukos took the White Spire, while Ulk, Folk, and Molklalk took the Black Spire. >>Aye, Jayma, and Thronos were able to kill several instrumental members of Clan Yul, but a few members living on the lower floors of the Palace escaped through its underground tunnels, and were able to buy safe passage to Bredenn Isle. Thronos was killed at the hands of Malk's brother, Hoshok the Strong. His throat was crushed, but Aye was able stab Hoshok in the stomach with her curved *talkalk*, leaving him for dead. Hoshok, too, was able to escape, and enlisted the help of a local wytch to heal his wounds with sacrificial magicks. Hoshok healed, but was no longer fully human, trading his morality for his life. He became Hoshok the Horrible, going on to become a major threat to Aye in Ires. >>As at Thousandtrees, Imperial Scribes were killed at Watercrown, under the presumption that they were the ones who ruined the near west financially. Mailan came upon a young handsome scribe, and kidnapped him, taking him as her sex slave. The White Spire, even then, was already mostly empty, so Yuija, and Yukos had no foes to fight but dust. They also freed many of the Imperial Palace's slave, inciting a riot in the building. The Black Spire had many of the Palace's soldiers, so before it was scaled, Ulk, Folk, and Molklalk waited for it to clear out, destroying, and taking any remaining weapons, and armor. They killed every soldier they came upon, but eventually, both 3rd Branchers died. Molklalk regrouped with the others at the bridge. >>In just a few hours, Aye had killed most of Clan Yul, started a slave revolt inside of Watercrown, killed most of the Imperial Water Government, and most of the soldiers living within the Palace. Aye's Army arrived shortly thereafter, taking control of the Palace while she returned to Liontail. >>At Liontail, Aye decided to ignite the blachumor in the fortresses' moat. Naya volunteered for a suicide mission. Aye allowed her to go through with her plan. Naya, masquerading as her older sister, met with Malk on the fortresses' drawbridge. Naya opened her mouth, revealing the absence of a tongue. Malk had been aware of Aye's mute sister, and realizing the trap, attempted to tackle Naya. Naya produced a match, lit in on the floor of the drawbridge, and tossed it into the moat. Naya, and the Great Emperor were boiled alive. His soldiers, although badly burnt, and starving, survived. Naya, too survived. She was horribly burnt, blind, and deaf, but was once again able to speak. Flames roared around her, and she said: >>>"He hátḩ s̷h͜o͜wn ̷ḿe͝ a̕ ͠gr͢eat̕ ̕ma̴ny҉ th҉ings, sister. I saw you taking the Northern Continent, énslavi̶ng҉ ͡pe͘op̷l͏e͠, naming it i̴n͜ ҉th͏in͟e ho̸n͘o҉r̨. I saw you finding a city in the south, as grand, and as beautiful as *Rolk-Sanulk*. Battles that you will win. Battles that you will lose. I saw them all. I saw your sons, and their sons, and their sons. Sons which will live as kings. Sons which will die as slaves. I saw a skull bathed in gold. I saw bravery untold. S͝t͟a҉rl̴ìg͞h͜t. T̸he̴ ҉N̶i҉ght.̷ ͠M͘u̢d. ̢B̷lo͘od̢.̧ Hai҉r. ̧Fea̧r̵. Fàte͞.́ ̸H͢a̕te̡. H̡ate.̡ ͘H͠A͠TE! I felt so, so, so much hate, all of it... all of it directed at your brother. Your poor, poor brother. Only 2͡,8̕70͢ years left. Y-you alongside him, and t̛h̸ér̕e͝ wa̷s a͏ ҉b͟o͏y̴, ̷y̶es ͡a̢ ̛boy, w̛i͠th ̕gre̢e̕n͏ ͟e̸y͢es̸.͠ Su̶ćh b̸ęa̶ut̴ìfưl̛ ̕ȩyes͡,̡ such̛ ́a ̢sad ͜pl͠ac͝e ͏fo̵r̨ ̕t̨hem ́t̴ò fad͝e ͡a̵w͜ay̸. S̶u͟c̸h̕ a̸ sąd pl̨a͘ce͝. I saw yo̶ú so much. Once a slave, once a whore, once an emperor, once as a king, and once as a god. Bu͜rn̨ ҉mighty̶ ̧c҉itie͠s̢ ̡ye҉ wil̛l̕, sister. I was at your side always. Now, and forever, I am yours." >>> — Naya the Mute, CC: 07/5/1,858 >>Asel fled from his palace at Grand Dement shortly thereafter. Aye's Army seized the Imperial Palace of Skywar, making Aye the Queen of the Far West, the Near West, and Telf. The burnt ruins of Liontail became the Seat of the Ayish Throne. >>The Twin Battles: >>Aye the Queen controlled Telf, meaning she controlled the swamps of what would later become Flotch. The near west stretched her domain to the River *Kolo-Kalksama* (literally Gold-Flake), the *Tolmkolt* (literally Gut) Sea, and the River *Olstok* (literally "east," later known as the River Himmelson). Aiming to expand, Aye's Army built military outposts on the South Mouth, and the Black Sea. Many of these survive into modern times under Lobott names. Few people called these barren lands home, and the few that did had always been weaker than the nearwesterners. Aye's new borders were the *Delk* (coincidentally literally Teeth) Mountains, and the River *Delknoktolfk* (literally Finger) in the Badlands. Attempts to expand into Ires were met with heavy resistance, so Ires was left to itself for a time. The Ayish Kingdom first had to expand into the major regions of *Ekropelk* (Crahiah, literally "stone-bird-land"), and *Prekrolk* (the Badlands, literally "Bredenn's land"), so Aye the Queen moved to sack *Olkushu nok Thulk* (literally "Monkey's City," later known as Polenonne), and the Stone Sky. These became known as the Twin Battles. The Monkey's City's wall were taken, and the city was renamed *Podoneyn* after the Badlander words for the River Roots, and Cronenn, both of whom Aye still held sacred in her heart. The battle was straight-forward. Aye did not care for the city, but rather for its walls which could not be damaged, and for what it meant to the Badlanders. Razing it meant total victory, as she would still be able to take its walls. So Aye unleashed eight morningstars in heat upon the city, which made short work of its inhabitants. A scorpion stung Aye's horse when she entered the city, and it threw her off, causing her to twist her ankle. As a result she had her men kill every single scorpion in the city. The eight morningstars, and the scorpions were eaten at a victory feast. >>All the while, the Stone Sky was besieged. The petty chieftains of the Crow, the far flung descendants of the Souther Empire, made futile attempts at war. The Jaiikaath-Dostheri met head-on with Ayish forces at the Battle of Nameless Gods, which quickly became very drawn-out, lasting until mid-2nd 859. Aye soon decided to intervene. She met with the chief of the Jaiikaath-Dostheri, who took her to a statue of a nameless god. There, they revealed themselves to her, and even the chief felt how much this woman was loved. Aye converted to the Faith of the Nameless Gods, and the Crow bowed down to her without any bloodshed. For political reasons, she maintained that she was a follower of the Shadow and the Shine around Telfishmen, and a follower of the Four Gods of Nature around Farwesterners, and nearwesterners, while professing the truth around foreigners, and Crahishmen that she was a follower of the nameless gods. Within a month, all of Crahia was hers. >>*Sanolk-Ylk* (literally "the Far West-Eye," now Westeye) called upon the most-powerful wyzards of the Badlands, and the Jaw to protect itself from the Ayish Kingdom. Soon enough, however, the wyzard's powers wilted against the love the nameless gods had for Aye. Great attacks fell against her like wind, and she struck terror into their hearts, causing them to bow down to her, and surrender the city. Aye then finded Ayerath, and took over the Badlander city of *Kalbalkykotolfki-Noalk* (literally Hoovetip). Within another four month, even the Wastelands of the Badlands, Her Isles, and the Face of Crahia had bowed down to her. Only Ires remained. >>Genocide of the Jawmen: >>Aye the Queen had despised the purejaws for all of her life. She believed that when Hockrott the Sailor (one soul with her, and a purejaw) arrived in the Delklands, that he brought nothing but death, and destruction with him. Nearly every native Badlander was wiped out in a generation, and millions of nearwesterners were enslaved by the Jawmen. In anger. Hockrott himself was killed by being thrown into a snakepit. Aye had grown up *over* this snakepit, as its surrounding redstone walls soon became the city of *Thulk*, which would later become the city of Hocktonne. Aye prayed to the nameless gods to lead her to anyone related to him. She found that nearly every purejaw of the Badlands, as well as many normal Badlanders, were related to him. Naya knew too, and although the woman terrified everyone around her, she was to lead the Breaking of the Jaw. Aye killed thousands of innocent people, one of the earliest genocides in this Earth's history. Although she was a nameless child, she was by no means perfect, or even good. >>Under Naya, hundreds of villages were razed, children, mothers, husbands, important politicians, and even soldiers within Aye's Army, were killed. These deaths were carried out over a period of two years, ending in early 2nd 862. The Massacre at Malkalt was an attack by Aye on her own people, supposedly because they were knowingly housing purejaws. Malkalt was an underground city of the Crow. Aye herself commanded the city's escape tunnels be blocked off with rubble, and the she, and ninety of her soldiers would quickly kill everyone within its walls. Malkalt was completely wiped out, and Aye returned with about seventy soldiers, telling the soldiers who blocked off the exits that they were now to live in Malkalt. Naya helped to burn the corpses, seeing them as sacrifices for the nameless gods. At this time, Naya was becoming increasingly obsessed with magicks, and her skills were improving. All the while, Aye was coming to rely on her sister's powers, and her own protection against magicks. >>The final purejaw to die at the hands of Aye was a girl living in Hocktonne that was about to turn sixteen. The Queen de-bodied the girl herself. >>The Invasion of Ires: >>Aye the Queen's invasion of Ires began late in the year 2nd 861, and ended in late 2nd 876, starting off with the Battle at *Duldui-Imi-Kulkdalk* (literally "Seventeen-Town," later known as Smalltonne). Smalltonne, despite its meager size, was already the largest settlement on the Claw by this point, due primarily to the peninsula's infertile, and rocky geography. Food is mainly imported, usually from Ires, or nearwestern nations. The few people who farm the peninsula are not able to afford living within Smalltonne's redstone walls. The kinds of people who called the city home back then were rich merchants, or men who payed rich merchants. These merchants sold their goods to Irelenners who came to the city as a gigantic market. Back then, the first merchant companies were popping up. The largest merchant company at the time, *the Sanolki Spices*, was run by the Merchant Prince Dulolk Ulkushu nok Sanolk, a Badlander noble masquerading as a wealthy Farwestern *Gahaholk*. >>Dulolk despised Aye the Queen, as he was a purejaw who had lost his younger sister to the Genocide of the Jawmen. Now, he was no fool, and he had been paying close attention ever since the Doublesiege to the Queen's rise to power. He knew that even Ires would eventually fall to the Ayish Kingdom. Dulolk meant to go out fighting, and vowed he would never forgive Aye for the atrocities she had committed up to then. Dulolk created the first private army in history, *the Sanolki Soldiers*, who met with the Ayish Army out on the Sea of Seventeen Sackings. All the while, Smalltonne's people were being evacuated by by boat up the River Gold-Flake. Dulolk was a very kind man, and said that luck, honesty, and skill had gotten him to become Merchant Prince, not shady tactics, unfair pricing, and treachery. He evacuated thousands of purejaw people, many of which were peasants, and then he evacuated people who were only part jawmen, and finally he evacuated the remaining people. He, however, would die with the city. Eventually, *the Sanolki Soldiers* gave up the fight, and Smalltonne was stormed. >>Generals Mailan, and Eya had lead the charge into the city, and came upon a ghost town. Dulolk stood there. Educated in magicks from nearly every then-explored region of this Earth, Dulolk was probably the most-powerful wyzard alive. Unlike any wytch or wyzard before or after him, Dulolk could control the absences of chains. Dulolk had the ability to control shadows, and could even form shadow golems. His first golem made to de-body Mailan, who tried to dodge, and made it out alive, losing her right arm just as Aye the Queen had. Eya shot him with an arrow as Dulolk distractedly charged the golem at a nearby soldier. Dulolk used witewynds to redirect the arrow. In the end, over seventy soldiers died, Mailan nearly bled to death, and Eya's left leg was horribly crippled, while Dulolk managed to escape with his life. He, along with Hoshok the Horrible, and God Lord Hala Oyu would go on to lead the resistance against Aye the Queen. >>Within six months, all of Aye's best generals were either injured horribly, killed, or forced to fight their battles from tents far from the battlefield. Hoshok the Horrible made a point of stabbing her generals with a curved *talkalk* named *Kulkin* (literally "*Queen Killer*"), always in the stomach. He had joined the Irelenners after recovering on Bredenn, figuring they would be among the only people who could resist Aye the Queen. When he met Dulolk, he asked the Merchant Prince if he could be taught shadow magicks. Dulolk said no, but said that there were ways he could help him. Dulolk possessed Hoshok's body, stealing its magicks to create even more powerful shadow golems. Hoshok did not care, as he had long lost his soul, using sacrificial magicks to keep himself alive. Together, the two were able to create a monstrously-large shadow golem. It wielded a great shadow *talkalk*. At the Battle at the River Rape, the Battle at the Fort of Fear, and the Battle of the Blyzzard, this shadow golem made short work of its opponents. Its appearance came at a price, however, as Dulolk would lose just a bit of his lifespan every time he used the ability. At the Battle of the Blyzzard, Dulolk turned into ash, and withered away before Hoshok. Hoshok had by this point already learned how to use powerful ice magicks, and froze the battlefield over, killing himself, and thousands of soldiers on. This was one of the final battles of the Invasion of Ires, and took place just outside of the Northern Capital. >>Aye the Queen herself participated in the final battle of the war, the Siege at the Hall of Greats. The Hall of Greats is a large museum in the Northern Capital of Ires full of statues of great Irelenner raiders, rapists, reavers, pirates, and saalkings. Aye did not wish to enter the Hall, believing that the destruction of art was abominable. She instead decided to starve out the Irelenners in the building, taking control of the city with the other half of her forces within the city. Eventually, Hala Oyu realized that Aye the Queen must have not been attacking because wished to protect the art. In one last act of defiance, he asked his sealhag wytch to completely obliterate the building. The sealhag had a vial of blachumor with her, and threw it into a torch. The Hall of Greats exploded, and the House of Oyu went extinct. Aye the Queen was said to have been so heartbroken by the destruction of the Hall of Greats that she fell to her knees, and sobbed, seeing the distant explosion. >>The Western Capital of Ires, always an ally of Thousandtrees, and Ires' Northern Capital, was never truly a leal subject of the Queen. She accepted this, and controlled by holding Alkos hostage. During the Invasion of Ires, the Queen's first son, Alkor Laochalk, was born. The Queen took Raymeij, and Yuija as her second, and third husbands shortly after the Siege at the Hall of Greats. Their relationship was complicated, and most-likely would be considered sinful by common nearwesterners. The marriage was kept a secret. >>The Renaming of the Northern Continent: >>Aye the Queen controlled the entirety of the Delklands, and what was then the largest country in the history of this Earth by late 2nd 876. Many of her generals believed that she meant to stop expanding her kingdom's borders, but on CC: 04/3/1,877, the 19th anniversary of the Doublesiege, Aye the Queen declared that she was the rightful ruler of the Jaw of the Northern Continent. By the end of the month, her navy had been mobilized, and a full-scale invasion of the Jaw had begun. The coastal cities of the Jaw, not at all prepared for an invasion, fell in a matter of days to Aye. Even Seatonne fell within three months of the announcement of war. Back then, the city was nothing more than the southernmost military outpost of Garlenn. Attacking it, however, meant a declaration of war on Garlenn. Garlenn immediately declared war on Aye the Queen. >>The First Battle at the Tower of Conquest took place between CC: 23/8/1,877 and CC: 17/1/1,878. God King Afarb IV was secure in his tower that Aye the Queen would not strike it down, and he was completely correct. Aye the Queen built a great wall around the Tower of Conquest, leaving plenty of fertile land around it. She did not wish to extinguish the line of King Ferb, as she believed that it was quite impressive it had lasted so long. She then went about purging the area surrounding the walls of loyalists by either killing them, or forcing them within the walls. At the end, most people simply bowed down to her, abandoning Afarb IV. Enough loyalists remained, however, that the line survived, and Afarb ruled the Tower of Conquest as a city-state for the rest of his days. >>The Northern Continent only had one great power, Garlenn, and with it under her grasp, she essentially controlled two continents. The rest of the conquest of Garlenn was simply spent following the River Naye to its spring. The Queen reached it towards the beginning of the year 2nd 879, arriving on New Year's Eve. She promptly renamed the Northern Continent "the Ayelands." Before returning to the Delklands, she used her armies to hunt down, and exterminate 18,000 purejaw noblemen, as a show of power to the Ayishmen. Shortly thereafter, she chose her Eight Governors: Naya, Mailan, Raymeij, Yuija, Eya, Zhayal, and Moklalk. Naya was given control of the East, Mailan of Ires, Raymeij of the Far West, Yuija of Telf, and Eya of Garlenn. Zhayal, who had always been reserved, intelligent, and one of her head strategists during her expansions, became their leader. Moklalk became the leader of her armies. Aye herself would serve as a figurehead, and as Moklalk's superior during wartime. >>The Invasion of Deres: >>Aye the Queen, on a dare by General Jayma, decided to invade Deres, the Desert Continent. On CC: 35/6/1,882, the Day of Hockrott the Sailor, Aye the Queen landed near what would eventually become White-Sphinx. Over the next month, she would travel to its far south, as no Delkishman had done in centuries. She found almost no civilization save for fishing villages. Upon reaching the Isthmus of Rainbows, Aye the Queen declared Deres part of the Ayish Kingdom. She immediately order military outposts be built all along its coast. One of these, *Kulkin*, named after Hoshok's *talkdak* still stands, renamed by the Lobott as Killmess. It is still a military outpost, but now serves as an anchor for boats trying to pass through the Walls of Wind that surround Deres. It was renamed after Sefenlander Emperor Messink I Messon. >>Killmess was such a successful colony that it inspired Aye the Queen to expand her kingdom even further south, in the hopes of finding the great city as grand, and as beautiful as Thousandtrees that her sister predicted she would. >>Conquering the Crescent Continen and the Siege of Vraenckorr: >>Aye the Queen began the invasion of Parthalenn on 08/08/1,888 when she, and 30,000 soldiers landed at the Ruins of the Walled-City of Reynlenn. Within a month, thirty military outposts had begun construction, and millions of natives (who were similar to Sayerthenners) had fallen to the Death of Mankind. The Death of Mankind is a terrible disease which turns its victims into hornmen, and liquifies their insides, turning them into ash, and they die by wilting away. It only affects populations with no hornmen, and even now, hornmen are somewhat rare among Sayerthenners. >>During her campaign in the Crescent Continent, Aye the Queen was dealt her greatest blow: the Siege of Vraenckorr. Vraenckorr was the *only* city in Western Parthalenn during her time. Its defense was the high mountains that formed a wall around the city in a vale. Not only that, but its people *did* have hornmen, and were unaffected by the Death of Mankind. In their home territory, with great defenses, and the use of guerilla tactics similar to the ones used in Ires, Vraenckorr was able to defeat the Ayish Kingdom. Jayma himself was stoned to death by several Vraenckorrian soldiers. Unlike future nameless children, Aye the Queen did not possess super strength. She was blessed with immunity to magicks, and the ability to bring out the best in the people surrounding her. Unknowingly, however, she was *improving* a mole within her ranks, who was able to keep up with her every strategy, allowing Vraenckorr to match the Ayish Kingdom blow for blow. >>One of the earlier plans had been to catapult fireballs into the city, but the mole communicated this, and the Vraenckorrians were able to quickly prepare for putting out fires. They themselves prepared a catapult so they would immediately know where to throw their own fireballs, aiming it in the direction the first came from, usually destroying the first catapult, or at least killing its operators. When men tried to scale the walls, or go in through the underground tunnels, the mole had warned the Vraenckorrians, and alerted them to where they were trying to enter from. The captured men were subsequently tortured, and returned, branded with the symbol of Vraenckorr; a broken jaw, its tongue bitten off. Eventually, Aye the Queen gave up on the battle, as starving out the Vraenckorrians was simply not an option. The vale they inhabited was large enough to be farmed, and had access to several freshwater springs. The mole was also allowing the Vraenckorrians to pass their lines in the night, and sneak back supplies from the surrounding villages. >>The Finding of Parthage: >>Aye the Queen, at the age of forty-nine, finally finded a city in the Crescent Continent, *Par Thulk* (New *Thulk*, literally "New City," later Parthage, and currently Haruirrin the City of the Shadow). By this point, her skin was becoming wrinkled, her hair was mostly grey, and her eyes had become an icy blue-grey. Her two husbands, save for Alkos, had died. Both had been killed in an avalanche at the base of the Crescent Blue Mountains. By this point, Aye had outlived many of her original Eight Governors. Mailan's son, Joye Jaha, had become the Lord Father of Ires and the Claw after Mailan was killed in a riot. Joye Jaha had reformed Ires and the Claw, making them leal, but pleasing them by being a raider, a rapist, a reaver, a pirate, and a saalking. Finally, she decided to reward Eya by naming her *Vaarraqua* of Parthage. The name comes from a Jauli word *Bayærþmaþkwahþ* (literally "transforming-things-men-spiders," werespiders; the name definitely comes from the plural, as the singular is *Bormükannkwéo*), chosen because of Eya's nickname, werespider. She was given this name because she was a tough, stern old woman, and was considered the face of the *Eight* Governors during the Queen's time. Eventually, Parthage would lend its name to the River Har through *Par*. Parthage was led by Eya for only a few years, but she begun a legacy of Vaarraqua which did not end for nearly 1,000 years. The Parthaginian Vaarraqua Il I Kaþar wanted independence from the Ayish Kingdom not even fifty years after the death of Aye the Queen, and declared to the Ayish King : "I, the Stern Son Il I Kaþar, Vaarraqua of the Grand and Beautiful City of Parþulg declare mine city's independence from the Kingdom of the Queen Ayeij. Mine mother loved the Queen, and I love her too for finding such a city, but she is dead, and we do not believe so large a kingdom could ever last. Mine noblemen will now govern this city, and the Vaaraqua will now be a title reserved for the Governor-General of the Parþulgian Republic." — Governor-General Il I Kaþar, CC: 01/7/1,956 Death: Aye the Queen died on 14/05/1,901 when she was ambushed by her husband Alkos, who stabbed her in the stomach just as Hokosh the Horrible was going to, and with the same weapon Ukos cut her arm off with. Aye collapsed, and bled to death afraid, and alone in her tent. The last words Alkos said to her were: "Naya was the mole at Vraenckorr, fatherkiller. Your damn gods... She said they don't love you anymore." Although only dimly aware of it, Alkos was referring to the fact that Aye was no longer the nameless child, one of only three individuals who ceased to be one before dying. Naya had been leal to the nameless child, not Aye the Queen. She had communicated with the Vraenckorrians as she always did, telepathically. Naya was a mute, and could not physically speak, so she had to communicate using her thoughts. These magicks work by linking together the chains of fate of one human, the telepath, to the ones of other humans, people receiving the message. This is incredibly draining, and generally makes one unable to feel emotions, and is quite difficult to actually orchestrate. Naya, however, was the most-powerful wytch who ever lived, so it was not very problematic for her, and indeed, her lack of emotions made it easier to betray her sister. Naya made sure the Vraenckorrians won because fate demanded it, because the nameless gods, and the one soul of their nameless children demanded it. Legacy: Alkos Laochalk fled Liontail with his son, Alkor Laochalk, smuggled on a boat to Henkenne. Alkos died on the way, there, somewhat old to be traveling such long distances, but his son was still young, and healthy, and made it his goal to preserve his line. Aye the Queen was succeeded by her nephew Ayish King Yiyau I Ayeson, whose rule saw the loss of all Parthalenner colonies. Yiyau was succeeded by Ayish King Joyemal I Ayeson whose rule saw the Principality of the Isthmus win its independence from the Ayish Kingdom. Joyemal was succeeded by Ayish Queen Aye II Ayeson whose rule saw the Old Kings Kazlor, and Dos of the Beyerlands carve out their Kingdoms in the East, and in Deres. After Queen Aye II, the Twin Kings Kaye I Ayeson, and Queen Mailan I Ayeson fought each other, with Queen Mailan amounting to little more than a Great Emperor of the Stone Claimant. However, Kaye had no heirs, so Mailan reigned for about a year after his death, then died. She had twelve legitimate sons, and three bastard sons, with one bastard daughter being her chosen heir. All-out war erupted immediately, lasting almost two generations. Eventually, the Three Kings came about, Yiyau II, Joye I, and Mailan II ruled simultaneously from three different castles. Eventually, the descendants of the Prince of the Sky, who had been sheltered by the Bredenners, returned to their Imperial Palace on 28/07/2,114, storming it, and forcing out Ayishmen with the Angry's Buck Army. Clan Yul did similarly at both Watercrown, and Liontail, with the other Water Clans lending their aid. However, this took several tries, as Liontail was held by Joye I's son, Joye II, a ruthless, pragmatic master of strategy, who managed to win the sieges despite overwhelming odds. However, even he was beat on 13/04/2,179. Through the line of Alkor Laochalk, Falkos VIII Laochalk was born, becoming the Great Emperors of the Trees CC: 01/1/2,216. Irelenners from the Western Capital of Ires found him, and in return for restoring him, he agreed to marry a descendant of the Oyu Family, who had nearly gone extinct during the Invasion of Ires by the Ayish Kingdom. It had been more than 350 years after the Doublesiege. The Imperial House of Laochalk survived almost to the present day more 2,001 years later with Great Emperor of the Trees Falk IX Laochalk. Blachumor ended up undoing the family, however, as was assassinated using it by Great Emperor of the Stone Claimant Ayeson Garlcutter. Aye's line continued on through bastards until King Ross Hockson, son of King Attos III Hockson of Crahia, who despite being a hornman, managed to rally together all Delkishmen, and take back Garlenn if only for a month. Ross struck down the Tower of Conquest, like his ancestor never would, and was lynched for it, his skull dipped in gold, his left horn broken, and a greyhound branded on his skull's forehead. His skull was speared by an iron rod, and became the scepter of the God King. Ross Hockson's soul is special in that it persist around its body. He was a Sealhag, only conquering Garlenn to fulfill his fate, which was to teach Erzael, and Landeles. Ross Hockson is completely conscious, and aware of his surroundings. He saw all of the Ayelands blow apart by Marcos Halfsmith's Hornman Far Bomb CC: 5,108. Name: In Farwestern her name was Sana Ayeij Deyla, which really translates as Great Empress Aye Deyla, not as Aye the Queen. However, Lobott poets likened her to a queen around the time of the finding of the Delkish Empire. This was done in support of the Imperial Monarchy. Her name has now become Ayeija nok Chalkai in Farwestern, which while not a direct translation of Aye the Queen (meaning literally "Aye of Queendom") comes with the same amount of reverence. Nok as a word is rarely used in this type of word construction.